Bringing a motor vehicle to Italy (temporarily or permanently)
Last update 26 June 2024 by the Ministero delle Infrastrutture e dei Trasporti
Requirements for driving or registering a vehicle from another EU country in Italy
If you are not resident in Italy, you can drive in Italy with your vehicle, registered in another Member State, for up to 1 year.
If you have resided in Italy for more than 3 months, you must register the vehicle in Italy.
If you are a private citizen and you import your vehicle (new or second-hand) to Italy for private purposes, you are usually not required to pay VAT.
In order to register your vehicle, you must first submit an application to your provincial Revenue Agency department to check whether VAT exemption conditions apply. You can find the necessary information by consulting the order of 17 July 2020 issued by the Director of the Revenue Agency at the following link:
www.agenziaentrate.gov.it/portale/documents/20143/2570158/Provvedimento+del+17.07.2020_..pdf
The provincial Revenue Agency office will notify the Vehicle Licensing Agency Data Processing Centre (CED) of your vehicle identification details to enable it to be registered.
If you wish to contact the provincial Revenue Agency office for further information, please click on the following link and select the region and town closest to you:
https://www.agenziaentrate.gov.it/portale/web/guest/siti-web-regionali
To register your vehicle, you must submit a single application directly to the Vehicle Licensing Agency office and to the relevant provincial Public Vehicle Registration (PRA) office.
To find the contact details of the Vehicle Licensing Agency offices, click on this link: Direzioni Generali Territoriali | mit (Local Directorates-General – Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport); select your geographical area and click on the name of the office located in the nearest town to you.
To find the PRA provincial office contact details, click on the link: ACI - Contatti / Ufficio Relazioni con il Pubblico (contact details/public relations office); under Scegli l′ufficio (choose an office), select Ufficio PRA (PRA office) and under Scegli la Provincia (choose a province) select the town closest to you.
The application form is known as the istanza unificata (single application) and contains your personal details (first name, surname, tax number, place and date of birth, address of residence in Italy) and your vehicle identification details (number plate or VIN, year of first registration abroad, date of import into Italy and date of last service).
The form is available online, with a privacy notice and completion instructions, on Il Portale dell′Automobilista [drivers′ portal] at the following link:
https://www.ilportaledellautomobilista.it/web/portale-automobilista/modulistica-documento-unico
You can view the form and download it in PDF format in Italian and also in a bilingual Italian-German version. You can view and download a courtesy version in English.
You can download the application form from the Automobile Club d′Italia (ACI) website at the following link:
https://www.aci.it/i-servizi/guide-utili/guida-pratiche-auto/modulistica.html
The application can be more easily filled in and signed directly in electronic format by going to an STA ( Sportello Telematico dell'Automobilista – motorists′ access point) in operation at Vehicle Licensing offices, provincial PRA offices or authorised vehicle consultancy firms.
The STA issues a registration certificate, which acts as a single registration and ownership document.
Attach the following to your application:
- a photocopy of your valid identity or identification document;
- the vehicle registration certificate and number plate;
- a receipt for payment of the required fees (including stamp duty, Vehicle Licensing Agency fees, and PRA and IPT (provincial registration tax) fees).
The amounts due are shown in the scale of charges on Il Portale dell′Automobilista at the following link: https://www.ilportaledellautomobilista.it/documents/56611/82780328/TARIFFARIO_SDG_EN.pdf as well as on the ACI website at the following link: http://www.aci.it/i-servizi/guide-utili/guida-pratiche-auto/acquisto-veicolo-nuovo.html
You will be able to pay online on both websites after registration.
Payment can also be made at an STA that offers online payment facilities.
Special conditions or requirements for driving or registering a vehicle for :
- students from other EU countries
If you are a student from another EU country, there are no special conditions or requirements for registering a vehicle in Italy. You must register your vehicle only if:
- you become resident in Italy, or
- you have a ‘stable relationship’ with Italy and give the address of an individual resident in Italy or a vehicle consultancy firm
Alternatively, you can drive in Italy with a vehicle registered in another EU country for up to 1 year.
- owners of second homes from other Member States
If you are an EU citizen and have a stable relationship with Italy, even if you are not a resident, you can register your vehicle by giving the address of another individual resident in Italy or a vehicle consultancy firm.
- cross-border commuter workers from other Member States
If you are a cross-border commuter worker from another Member State, and you are not resident in Italy, you can drive your foreign-registered vehicle through Italy.
If you are an employed or self-employed person residing in Italy carrying out your professional activity in the territory of another neighbouring or bordering state, you can drive in Italy, without any time limit, with your vehicle registered in the neighbouring or bordering state provided that the vehicle is registered in the REVE (Register of Foreign Vehicles) kept by the PRA (Public Vehicle Register). Your vehicle, if it is registered in the REVE, can also be used by family members that live with you.
If you are an employed or self-employed worker resident in Italy and carry out your professional activity in the territory of another neighbouring or bordering state, you can drive in Italy without any time limit with a vehicle registered in the name of the company where you work, if you use it for more than 30 days (including non-consecutive days) in the calendar year. Again, you must register the vehicle in the REVE and you must always carry a document with you that bears a definite date and is signed by the vehicle′s owner, certifying your entitlement (e.g. company loan) and the period the vehicle is available to you.
If you transfer your residence to the same municipality or to another Italian municipality, or if you assign the use of the vehicle to another person resident in Italy, you must update the data in the REVE.
For further details, please consult the following link:
https://www.aci.it/i-servizi/guide-utili/guida-pratiche-auto/registro-dei-veicoli-esteri-reve.html
- driving in Italy with vehicles hired without a driver or leased and that are registered abroad
If you do not have Italian residence and come to Italy with a vehicle registered abroad that you have hired without a driver or leased, you can drive freely for a maximum period of 1 year. You must always keep the rental or lease agreement on board the vehicle.
If you are resident in Italy, you can drive a vehicle hired without a driver or leased that is registered abroad, provided that you register it in the REVE. You must always keep the rental or lease agreement on board the vehicle.
Penalties or fines for failure to comply with rules for vehicle registration or registering in the REVE
If you have been resident in Italy for more than 3 months and you have not yet registered your vehicle from abroad, the police can apply the following penalties:
- payment of a fine of between EUR 400 and EUR 1 600;
- withdrawal of your vehicle registration document (which is sent to the relevant local Vehicle Licensing Agency office), administrative seizure of your vehicle, which cannot therefore be driven on the road, and an order to transport and deposit it in a place that is not subject to public passage;
- payment of a fine of between EUR 1 984 and EUR 7 937 if you drive the vehicle when it is under an administrative seizure;
- confiscation of the vehicle if, within 30 days of the date of the infringement, you have not yet registered it in Italy or you have not yet requested a travel pass to take it across the Italian borderi.
If you are an employed or self-employed worker resident in Italy and carry out your professional activity in the territory of another neighbouring or bordering state and you use a vehicle registered in the name of the company where you work, the police can apply the following penalties:
-
If you are not carrying a document certifying your entitlement to
use the vehicle:
- payment of a fine of between EUR 250 and EUR 1 000;
- detention of the vehicle, which cannot therefore be driven, and the obligation to present the document to the police within 30 days;
- further payment of a fine of between EUR 727 and EUR 3 629 if you do not present the document within 30 days.
-
If you do not register your vehicle in the REVE:
- payment of a fine of between EUR 712 and EUR 3 558;
- withdrawal of the vehicle registration certificate, meaning that the vehicle cannot be driven;
- further payment of a fine of between EUR 2 046 and EUR 8 186 and administrative detention of the vehicle if it is driven during the period when the registration certificate is withdrawn;
- confiscation of the vehicle, if you drive during the period when it is in administrative detention.
